Jonny

I can see clear banding in one of them. The picture shows it pretty well too. Drum apparently live to about 10 yrs old. I can make out about 5 rings. I know that's not scientific like cutting it open, but maybe the fish was about 5 yrs old?

I think the thing about drum otoliths is that they're so large.

??? There sure has to be a ton of money made selling tackle. All you do is dangle something new in front of a fisherman. But don't throw out that ABU. I think I know where you can get some money for it.

I'm getting the distinct impression you guys are squeamish! :D Do you clean your own fish or do you bring 'em home for the wife to do them?

Here's what y'all need --- maybe me too! A little different from the others. http://www.tackletour.com/reviewicast08usr...upercaster.html

Yeah, Roy, it does look like a butcher shop in that one photo. I couldn't think of another way to show how it's done. I visited some sites where it was only described or diagrammed and they were of limited help. Cutting up any animal is not my favourite thing to do, and this was a little more distasteful than just filleting a fish, for some reason. But like they say, "You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs". Cutting the antlers off a moose or deer is no fun either. --- No, John, no parrot. I don't want to be stereotyped.

You're right, TBayBoy, there's not much to choose between them. I'm going to try to look up some more reference pictures.

Thanks for the replies... So there are a few around. This one, if it's the same one every time, or part of a pair, apparently has been around for a few years now. It would be awesome to spot a nest site. Here are a couple more shots, one wider angle and one of the eagle having taken off...

Only one. And a patch over the left eye. And a baitcaster for a whip. Avast, ye mateys!

Yes, I learned that by searching around, but I wouldn't want to destroy one by cutting it apart. I can see why! Well it's the first I've ever tried it, and maybe the last if I don't use them for anything. Kind of interesting when it's a first-time thing, but I can see that the novelty might fade pretty fast unless you used something like a bandsaw! --- Bob, wouldn't a tumbler break the edges?

I dunno. Make a pair of earrings? I know of at least one lodge on Nipissing that will cut them out for you if you want them. Souvenir, I guess.

Meaning..... ?

I really enjoyed this report. Congratulations on the hawg! Those green moths are called Luna Moths. Large and beautiful. I used to shore fish the fast water below the Horwood Dam west of Timmins and there, at times, the pickerel would actually JUMP for the bait - right out of the water. Never seen that anywhere else.

I had heard about these, but never seen one. Their purpose seems to be to give the fish balance. Apparently native people used to think they had some mystical power. People nowadays sometimes use them for jewelry. Supposedly they're the closest thing to ivory in a fish. These otoliths, from about a 7 lb. drum, are about the size of a nickel, and in texture and weight they feel like broken pieces of river pebble, not bone. I found an internet site that showed a diagram of how to remove them, so I decided to try it. You have to cut the head exactly in half longitudinally - quite a chore, even with a heavy hunting knife. When you've done that you can make out the pockets that the otoliths are in (marked in the photo). Clear away a bit of very soft tissue and you can gently work them out with the tip of your knife. A couple of pics I took:

Thanks for the replies, gents. They helped me, along with an internet search, to go ahead and try preparing drum. So here are my findings (new to me, though old news for some of you, I'm sure) : Drum fillets very much like a pickerel. On a smaller drum you can take the sides off in complete slabs, cutting through the rib bones, then removing the rib cage. I wouldn’t bother with the belly meat – just the thick saddle up top and the thinner tail section. On a large drum you can’t cut through the ribs with a filleting knife. At least I couldn’t. I think you’re best to work the fillet off starting with dorsal cuts parallel to the backbone, working down to the ribs and stopping there. Then feel for the end of the ribcage with your fillet knife and skate it along the backbone to free the tail section. I was told drum are bony. Not so. The fillets are free of bones. But you may get less off a fish than you’re used to because the ribcage and the cavity seem to be large, and the bones are massive compared to the size of the fish. Filleting drum is easier than getting boneless pike fillets. Wash the fillets well under cold water, then sprinkle with lemon juice (both sides) and allow to sit for a few minutes. Sprinkle fairly generously with lemon pepper and place in very hot oil in a frying pan. The meat is pinkish and turns white when done. Crisp it up a bit if you want, but not for too long – I think it will get too chewy. We tried a small drum – about 2 ½ lb live - done like this as soon as I had finished filleting it - and the meat was very pleasant-tasting – no fishy taste or musty taste – and actually very mild. You need to take a large forkful to get any flavour of the fish, it’s that mild. The meat is firm and slightly chewy – you wouldn’t mistake the texture for pickerel but you might for pike. I ran a fillet over Old Harv, our neighbour (and friend), who is a veteran fisherman and had been very skeptical of drum when I told him I wanted to try one. He must have repeated half a dozen times, “I can’t believe it! – this is good fish!”. It’s no wonder I’ve read that they make a good chowder. The flesh is firm and won’t break apart too easily, I think. A couple of pics:

PROBLEM SOLVED!

Ah, I see I've run into an "expert". One of those "one shining path" guys. You could probably try to make your point without the insults, but hey, if that's your bag, go for it. I know the value to place on that kind of opinion. You do know why baitcasters are so fancy (complex), with all the magnets, etc... It's because a levelwind is basically an inefficient design for casting.

My guffaw with my morning coffee! The coffee sprayed out so hard I durn near lost another tooth! I think I seen a snapshot of yer family a while back...

Admirable, and a great goal. The problem of course is that there are LOTS of people who can't afford the installations, or two vehicles. They are the ones who suffer the most when gas prices are high enough for the oil companies to be raking in cash, and they're likely the last to have such options. Some of them are fortunate enough to be able to cut their own wood for heating. That's about as oil-dependence-free as they can get.

Interesting! Different minnows or different conditions I guess. A friend and I set minnow traps in the same pool of the same creek a few times. When we checked, his would be full and mine almost empty. The only difference was that his was black. So I painted mine black and I started getting good catches too. This was for mostly daces and chubs, if I recall correctly. If you have both colours, you could run an experiment, by placing them side-by-side!

You mean "correct". But if your cast is good in the first place, you shouldn't need to correct. And you're working with two variables - the sweep of the rod, and thumb pressure. That unnecessarily complicates things. That tension on the line is drag. Drag = less distance.

I was trying to spell it from memory, having seen this article some time ago. I was close. The thing about "b*stardization was more a joke than a criticism. I know you block certain words and I have no problem with that.

In my experience, stale bread works fine in a minnow trap and larger pieces won't wash out even in a creek current. If you're going to use a steel mesh trap, which is usually a bright metal colour, spray paint it flat black. In my experience, you'll catch more minnows, and faster. In some places a square dip net on a pole works really well (and gives you almost instant success), the kind on curved metal rods, one to each corner. Tie some wet bread in place in the center with a piece of blasting wire or something similar. Chum a little with some dissolved bread.

I've never tried freshwater drum (sheepshead). Common wisdom is that you can't eat 'em. Any opinions? I caught several this evening, one of them about 7 lb. I'm thinking of trying to smoke them? Saltwater drum, apparently closely related, are supposed to be good eating. One of the names they go by has got to be one of the most interesting I've ever heard. In some places they call them "gasper goo" , a buggerization of the French "casse burgeau", meaning "shell or clam cracker". They're damn good fighters, with that broad deep body. Kind of halfway between a pickerel and a pike. They fight for the bottom, but they also circle around. --- EDIT - the program changed "b*stardization" to "buggerization" --- I guess that's better!?

Weather in North Bay has been crap compared to normal. We haven't had any heat at all to speak of. We're lucky to hit 20 C once in a while. Surface water temp on Nipissing when I was out fishing this evening was 58 F. The drums are spawning I guess. I caught 3 tonight, one of them about 7 lb... lost a couple more. Got two keeper pickerel under the slot. Not bad for a short time fishing. Those drums can fight... much like a bass, but no aerials.